Desktop Laminar Flow Hood

A desktop laminar flow hood (often called a clean bench or laminar flow cabinet) is a smaller, often portable, enclosed workstation designed to create a contamination-free environment for handling sensitive materials.

Purpose and Mechanism

The primary function of a desktop laminar flow hood is product protection. It ensures that the materials inside the workspace are shielded from airborne contaminants like dust and microbes.

• Laminar Flow: The hood draws air through a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter and then blows the filtered air across the work surface in a smooth, unidirectional (laminar) flow. This constant stream of clean air prevents non-sterile air from entering the work zone.

• Protection Type: Laminar flow hoods only protect the product/sample, not the user or the environment. The HEPA-filtered air is exhausted back toward the user or into the room.

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Types and Applications

Desktop laminar flow hoods come in two main configurations, which determine the direction of the clean airflow:

Type	Airflow Direction	Ideal Use Case
Horizontal	Air flows from the back of the cabinet out toward the user (parallel to the work surface).	Procedures where minimal turbulence is desired, such as assembling small electronic components or preparing culture media.
Vertical	Air flows from the top of the cabinet down toward the work surface and out the front opening.	Procedures where a downward air path is preferred, often to reduce the risk of contaminants settling on the work surface, such as DNA work or non-hazardous tissue culture.

Common Applications:

• Microbiology: Preparation of sterile culture media and plate pouring.

• Electronics: Assembly of sensitive components and thin film devices.

• Pharmaceuticals: Non-hazardous pharmaceutical compounding and product inspection.

• Research: Work with non-hazardous materials like DNA, plant tissue culture, or non-infectious cell lines.

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Important Safety Distinction

A desktop laminar flow hood (often called a clean bench or laminar flow cabinet) is a smaller, often portable, enclosed workstation designed to create a contamination-free environment for handling sensitive materials.

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 Purpose and Mechanism

The primary function of a desktop laminar flow hood is product protection. It ensures that the materials inside the workspace are shielded from airborne contaminants like dust and microbes.

• Laminar Flow: The hood draws air through a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter and then blows the filtered air across the work surface in a smooth, unidirectional (laminar) flow. This constant stream of clean air prevents non-sterile air from entering the work zone.

• Protection Type: Laminar flow hoods only protect the product/sample, not the user or the environment. The HEPA-filtered air is exhausted back toward the user or into the room.

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 Types and Applications

Desktop laminar flow hoods come in two main configurations, which determine the direction of the clean airflow:

Type	Airflow Direction	Ideal Use Case
Horizontal	Air flows from the back of the cabinet out toward the user (parallel to the work surface).	Procedures where minimal turbulence is desired, such as assembling small electronic components or preparing culture media.
Vertical	Air flows from the top of the cabinet down toward the work surface and out the front opening.	Procedures where a downward air path is preferred, often to reduce the risk of contaminants settling on the work surface, such as DNA work or non-hazardous tissue culture.

Common Applications:

• Microbiology: Preparation of sterile culture media and plate pouring.

• Electronics: Assembly of sensitive components and thin film devices.

• Pharmaceuticals: Non-hazardous pharmaceutical compounding and product inspection.

• Research: Work with non-hazardous materials like DNA, plant tissue culture, or non-infectious cell lines.

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 Important Safety Distinction

It's crucial to understand that a laminar flow hood is not a Biosafety Cabinet (BSC).

Feature	Laminar Flow Hood (Clean Bench)	Biosafety Cabinet (BSC)
Primary Protection	Product only (maintaining sterility)	User, product, and environment (containment of hazardous materials)
Suitability for Hazards	NOT suitable for hazardous, infectious, or volatile materials.	Required for working with biohazards (e.g., pathogens, human cell lines, infectious samples).